Happy Birthday
by hidingunderblankets
Summary: In the dead of night, a shadowy figure blows a paper airplane to a pair of frolicking tykes.


Nighttime had fallen upon the poles. The light show in the sky had begun and the animals had retreated to their dens until the sun showed its face once more. The predators of the shadows had risen and began prowling the wastes for stragglers. The winds cried in the darkness as they beat the lands with chills.

Near the frozen shoreline sat an igloo with crude drawings in its surface. A flickering light shined from the hole leading inside. The sound of playing children echoed from the shelter.

In the igloo, two youths in jackets laughed and screamed as they lapped a fire in the center. One was a girl and one was a boy. The girl wore pink and the boy wore blue. The girl ran from the boy as he stretched his arm out and tried to touch her. The girl teased the boy as she retained a distance between herself and the boy, who tried keeping up.

"I'm too fast for you!" The girl taunted as she looked back at the boy.

"No way!" he objected as he panted. Though exhausted, he still felt confident.

They continued circling the fire as they laughed in joy.

Outside, a wooden boat floated offshore. The lantern attached to it glowed lightly, being close to burning out. Standing on the craft was a man disguised by the darkness of night. The eyes of his wolfish head glowed white and his tattered cape blew in the gust. He stared at a light in the distance, emanating from the igloo on the island before him.

He crouched and examined something laying on the floor. A yellowed sheet of paper laid next to two pieces of taffy on top of a cloth. On the paper were words in red, sloppily written. He skimmed through the text with his finger before picking it up. Concentrating, he folded it into a paper airplane. He turned it on its side as he observed his work. After thoroughly checking it, he bent down and grabbed the taffy with his free hand. He dropped it in between the plane's crevasse and they both slipped inside.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out something hidden in his clenched hand. He held it over the plane and released his grasp. Out came glowing dust the color of jade, which settled on to the airplane and adhered to its wings. The man chanted in a hoarse voice and with a lowered head. Finishing, looked forward again. He extended his arm and took a deep breath. He let his fingers slip and the plane flew out of his grip. It began flying across the water. He watched as it grew father apart from him.

Back in the igloo, the boy had just tagged the girl. They stopped their movement and caught their breath, still smiling.

"I said I'd tag you," the boy told the girl as he panted.

"Whatever," the girl responded as she did the same. They both giggled.

The girl's laughing came to a halt as she spotted something outside. Her face went from joyful to curious as she watched something fly towards the igloo. The boy stopped as well, wondering what was troubling her.

"What's wrong?" he asked her. His only answer was a pointed finger from the girl. He followed it and saw what she had her eyes on. Something flat flew towards them outside.

They watched as it grew larger and larger. Then, it flew into their igloo. A paper plane had stuck into their snowy wall. They gathered around it, looking at each other in wonder. The boy stood on his toes and yanked the plane free. He held it in both hands, his arms stretched out for the girl to see. He felt something inside the flap in the center and reached inside. He grabbed hold of what lied within and removed it, displaying the items in his fingers. It was taffy.

"Taffy!" they exclaimed as the boy handed a piece to the girl. They gobbled their surprise treat quickly and wiped their mouths with their sleeves. They chuckled together before returning their attention to the mysterious plane that had entered their home. The boy rotated it at first, then handed it to the girl, clueless. She gave it a look before unfolding it and finding something written inside. She gasped in excitement.

"It's a letter!" she marveled as she showed it to her sibling. He grabbed it with a hand and saw it for himself. Inside the plane, someone had written a message inside it with red ink. "I'll read it!"

"Aw," the boy pouted. "Why do you always have to read it?"

_To: Popo and Nana._

_Your parents were raised in the world of brimstone, where beasts with horns and sirens with charms thrived. They, and the rest of their village, struggled to survive in the land they called home._

_They met when a demon and his followers threatened to cloak the land with a black sheet. A group of the bravest men and women gathered upon a hilltop, armed with the finest weapons they could forge. They confronted the monster's army in the grass. The two found themselves trapped in a sea of soldiers, and together they swam through it with hammers as their oars. After ripping their way through, they faced the demon. They fought it until the moon fell and rose again, and defeated it, holding its head together on the hill for their people to see. Thanks to their effort, the land was saved from the apocalypse._

_They married on that same hill weeks later, and not long afterward, they were expecting. For nine months, they lived in peace and harmony. The sounds of singing bears and humming raptors filled the air from sunrise to sunset and the land flourished in lush, flowery life. On the night of the delivery, two children entered the world, and they gave them names gods. The entire village celebrated the arrivals with a festival, having not had a new addition in ages. There was dancing and music and cheering that lasted into the night. However, with that night came evil. And evil came with a flying ship and a solar machine._

_From high in the sky, it fired beams of scorching light on to the village, burning it to a dark crisp. Even the strongest weapons were no match for the terror from above. Villagers collected whatever they could and fled for the wilds, hoping the ship wouldn't follow them. But in the midst of it all, the parents refused to leave the land they'd fought to save – they wanted to go down fighting. They sneaked away from the destruction with their two bundles of children. They rushed to the docks where a fisherman awaited them. When they reached the boat, they handed them to him, and he sailed away, into the frozen world that lied beyond the horizon._

_They returned to the village with their armor and weapons, and roared as they leaped for the ship. Some claimed to have seen fire in the sky on that night and into the following daybreak. But one thing they didn't see was them._

_The fisherman steered his boat through the caps and glaciers for days while keeping an eye on the children he'd sworn to protect. He guarded them until he realized they could not survive in the raft. They grew quickly to the man's surprise, and one day, as he stopped the boat near an island of ice, they hopped out and explored the land eagerly. The man tried to catch them but after days of pursuit, he noticed they'd already learned how to live in the subzero world. With some thought, he decided to let them stay there, feeling that they'd live happily on the ice._

_Before he left, he handed them a gift for their new lives – two mallets, one for each child. They gazed at their new toys and galloped into the snow with one final goodbye. And so, with a goodbye himself, the man parted._

_And do you know who those children are?_

_You guessed right._

_I've been watching you two from afar for years now, and you two have grown so much. You're just like your parents. I wish I could meet you in person, but the ship has placed its cross hairs over me – I cannot remain stationary for long. I swear if one day the machine gives out, I'll come to you. But for now, I give you a hasty present._

_Happy sixth birthday, Popo and Nana._

_Sincerely, your uncle._

The kids looked up at each other, their mouths ajar from what the girl had just read. What they'd just taken in left them with so many questions they'd ignored for years now. It also sprouted new ones as well. Birthday gift? Their uncle?

They looked out the igloo entrance and spotted a dot on the sea. They rushed outside and stopped at the shore. But by then, it had vanished. They stared blankly at the ocean, left in a great deal of wonder and fear. They turned their gaze to the letter they both had carried along with them outside.

On the boat, the man stood with folded arms. He kept his focus straight forward as he sailed across the cold waters. He noticed his lantern dying out and watched as it flickered. He reminded himself to add more oil later.

He looked back at the island he'd just left. He only saw the white mountains deep inland. He turned away and sighed as his head dropped again. He opened his palms and stared at his dirty fingernails as he buried himself in thought.

Just then, the lantern gave out as the winds howled.


End file.
